ACV-39 was named Cordova for a bay in Alaska. Cordova Bay is in the Alexander Archipelago, southeast Alaska, and opens into Dixon Entrance (NS0303913, map courtesy of Google Maps). (The current Orca Bay, in Prince William Sound, Alaska, was also known in English as Cordova Bay, but was renamed in the early 20th century to avoid confusion with the bay in Dixon Entrance.)

Transferred to the Royal Navy on 25 August 1943, she became HMS Khedive. Khedive was the title given to a ruler of Egypt from 1867 to 1914, governing as a viceroy of the sultan of Turkey. The unofficial Coat of Arms is believed to have been suggested by the ship's officers. It features a large key (whose meaning is not clear) and a spiked crown, presumably an approximation of the crown of the Khedive of Egypt. (Image and partial text courtesy of Tony Drury, Royal Navy Escort Carriers.)

HMS Khedive. Date and place unknown.

Undated photo of HMS Khedive (D62) underway at Greenock, Scotland, Captain H.J. Haynes RN in command.

Source: Imperial War Museum Admiralty Official Collection by Beadell, S.J. (Lt), Photo No. © IWM(A 22596).

HMS Khedive at anchor, Greece, 1944.

(Thanks to Tony Drury for the identification).

A picture of the escort carrier HMS Khedive (D62, ex-U.S. Cordova, CVE-39), which shows Supermarine Seafire F.Mk.III (LR856) of No.899 Squadron after nosing over and destroying its propeller[, 1944?]. This is one of those pictures which have given the Seafire a bad name. Photo FAAM Yeovilton.

Photo and text from Supermarine Seafire, by Kev Darling.

British officers from HMS Khedive (D62, ex-U.S. Cordova, CVE-39) entertain King Farouk of Egypt, with a Seafire providing a backdrop, while anchored at Alexandria[, 1944]. Note the battledress worn by Lt. Cdr. George Baldwin, second row, second from right, and the captain, front row, right, with wings, an unusual distinction for such a senior officer at this stage. Imperial War Museum. Photo No.A28114.

Photo and text from The Fleet Air Arm Handbook, by David Wragg.

Escort carrier HMS Khedive (D62) underway in British coastal waters, 19 March 1944. Photo by unknown Royal Navy official photographer. Imperial War Museum. Photo # FL 14356.

HMS Khedive (D62) anchored at Greenock, Scotland on 27 March 1944.

Source: Imperial War Museums Admiralty Official Collection, by Beadell, S.J. (Lt), Photo No. © IWM (A 22497).

A Royal Navy Vought Corsair Mk.II on an outrigger aboard the escort carrier HMS Khedive (D62) in the Indian Ocean in 1945. Khedive did not operate the Corsair, but the Grumman Hellcat. Photo taken by unknown Royal Navy official photographer.

Photo No. A 29037 from the collection of the Imperial War Museums.

A Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft takes off from HMS Khedive (D62), in the Far East, to rescue the crew of a ditched bomber spotted in their dinghy 30 miles away. The white patches on the wings of the aircraft are recognition panels designed to prevent friendly fire incidents. Royal Navy official photographer.

Photo No. A 29251 from the collection of the Imperial War Museums.

HMS Khedive just inside the breakwater entrance of the Grand Harbour in Malta. In the background of this photo lies Fort St. Michael (although somewhat obscured by the carrier's emission) whilst the breakwater arm on this side of Fort St. Michael is quite recognisable. This picture was possibly taken in late 1945. (Thanks to Noel Paris, who provided additional info).

Jeremy explains: "My father was Chaplain aboard HMS Khedive from 1944, after training at Torpoint and HMS Raleigh from Nov 1943."

"Like many of his generation, he hardly spoke about his war. I know that he joined the ship before it left for the Clyde and that he experienced being under air attack. Whether or not he took these photos, I do not know — so have no idea how they may have been taken — official / unofficial."

---

"Another wrecked Hellcat."

"Both Naval Chaplains, the Arter brothers — James on right of picture — meet during wartime in Trincomalee, Ceylon."

Aboard HMS Khedive (D62).

"Deck hockey."

"Family archives."

"Gift from Jap POW in Changi jail where Dad did duty as Chaplain."

"Mention in Despatches, Petty Officer Leslie Henry Ernest Kimpton, FAA/FX 81337, Yeovil, for courage and skill while serving in H.M.S. Khedive in an air strike on the airfields at Medan and Binjai, Sumatra, on June 30, 1945."

"Acting Lieutenant-Commander Rodney Harold Power Carver, D.S.C., Royal Navy, Yeovil."

Left to right, the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, the escort carrier HMS Emperor, and the French battleship Richelieu during Operation Sunfish in the East Indies, April 1945.

(See NS0303404 for a cropped copy of this photo.)

Hellcat "K6J," 808 Squadron, launching from HMS Khedive (D62), 1945.

Hellcats "K6Y" and "K6Z" (?), 808 Squadron, prepared for launch from HMS Khedive (D62), 1945.

British escort carrier (possibly HMS Begum) and escorting destroyers, seen from Khedive.

HMS Khedive (D62) in the Far East. Planes on deck.

Rev James Arter conducts a burial at sea aboard HMS Khedive (D62), circa 1945.

"A most useful escort." French battleship Richelieu (see also NS0303912g).

HMS Khedive (D62) under attack, possibly during Operation Sunfish, April 1945 (see "A History of HMS Khedive," by Tony Drury, for details.)

At 1045, 5 May 1945, during Operation Dracula (air and amphibious attack on Rangoon), destroyer Virago (R75) collided with HMS Khedive (D62) while disengaging on completion of refueling in heavy seas. Only minor damage was done to both ships.

This photo was possibly taken in August 1945, after a Hellcat of 808 Squadron hit its tail on the rounddown, then broke through the barrier and damaged the tail of another Hellcat, parked forward.

Ex-HMS Khedive as Rempang (Dutch flag) in the Weser River, Bremen, Germany, April 1964.

Newspaper picture showing the Dutch vessel Rempang, ex-Cordova, ex-HMS Khedive, working cargo in Bremen, Germany, in August 1965.

SS Rempang, ex-Cordova, ex-HMS Khedive, date and location unknown.

Sold to Panama and renamed Daphne.